Urge the government to release more wolves into the wild where they belong

Endangered Lobos Need Genetic Rescue

Endangered Mexican gray wolves need your voice now.

When Mexican gray wolves were first introduced into the wild in 1998, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) projected there would be 100 wolves in the wilds of eastern Arizona and western New Mexico by 2006. More than a decade later, the total population is only at 97 wolves - a whisker away from extinction. Due to USFWS’s failure to release new wolves from the captive breeding population, the genetic diversity of the wild population remains low.

For over 3 decades, captive breeding programs in the U.S. and Mexico have worked to maximize genetic diversity so that captive wolves could be released to increase the wild population’s genetic health. But USFWS has released very few of these wolves. Only 4 wolves have been released into the wild in the past 8 years, even though new rules have greatly expanded the area in which wolves can be released from captivity into the wild. .

Please tell USFWS to release more Mexican wolves into the wild where they belong, and ask others to do the same.

Personalize the talking points/sample email below and send a message to the USFWS, urging them to release more wolves from the captive population.

Dear Dr. Tuggle,

The wild population of Mexican wolves is at tremendous risk due to its small size and genetics. The recent release of a wolf pair and exploration of cross fostering are good steps towards improving the wild population’s genetic health, but are not nearly enough. Many more wolves should be released this year from the hundreds in captive breeding programs.

For over 3 decades, captive breeding programs in the U.S. and Mexico have worked to maximize genetic diversity so that captive wolves could be released to increase the wild population’s genetic health. But USFWS has squandered the work of these programs by releasing very few of these wolves. The two “new” releases in the agency’s plan for 2015 are inadequate to recover the lobo.

Please stop letting wild wolves languish in captivity while the wild population’s genetic health suffers. Release significant numbers of new wolves into the wild where they belong.

While all the organizations participating in mexicanwolves.org share the common goal of recovering the Mexican gray wolf, individual groups can, and sometimes do, differ in their approaches to specific issues.